FLORENCE, Ky. — The American Red Cross is urging donors to give blood ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. The organization said it typically sees a 21% drop in blood and platelet donations during holiday weeks.
Blood has a shelf life, so the organization needs donors constantly to keep up with demand especially since donations typically drop during the summer months, according to a spokesperson for the Red Cross.
“They're out on vacation,” said Marita Salkowski, the Regional Communications Director for the Central and Southern Ohio region of the American Red Cross. “Kids are out of school. They're out having fun. We’re away from the pandemic a little bit and so people are out doing more things and as a result, maybe not making those blood appointments as they would.”
Salkowski said the need for blood often goes up in the summer, as there are typically more trauma patients. However, those patients are not the only ones who need donated blood.
“It is used for cancer patients,” she said. “Some cancer treatments require blood. It's used for accident victims, trauma patients. It can be used for a mother who is having a baby and starts to hemorrhage.”
The American Red Cross is holding a two-day blood drive at Seven Hills Church in Florence this week. On Monday, 92 people donated blood. The organization hopes to hit a total of 200 donors when the drive continues Tuesday. It’ll run between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
You can make an appointment in advance or look up other blood drives HERE. When online appointments fill up, staff will accept walk-in donors.
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